The Kotanga Valley and the Kotanga Timber Tramway.

[Annie]

The lads let me take a progress photo this morning.  I asked them what the lamp was for and they told me it was for 'burning the midnight oil.'  Something tells me I'm going to be getting a request for a pay rise from the staff fairly soon.


Chain driven steam locos are in the best traditions of NZ bush tramways, Meccano sprockets and chain definitely has the right 'look' about it too.

I asked Bill how they were going to connect the cylinders and connecting rods onto the chain drive and Bill told me that it was, 'very technical'.  Why do I get the feeling the lads haven't thought of that yet?

[dmaynard]

In the set there was a large evil tree that could grab up unwary....folk in its arm-like branches.

Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore 

[Annie]

There will be a sign posted in that part of the forest, 'Please do not feed the trees'. 

The pace of work down at the 'Works' site has been furious.  Bill is becoming a very good fitter and can make all sorts of things out of the bits he finds in my storage crates.  You might have noticed that he 'found' a chimney casting that he wants to use.  It's for a NZR 'F' class loco and it's for 9mm scale, but in actual fact a wee bit too thick through the middle to be the correct size for that scale.  I let Bill take it because the other chimney he was eyeing up was for a LNWR tank engine and that would never do!
That dome is too tall IMHO, but I won't mention it to Bill because he'll only tell me, 'I haven't finished yet!' and look annoyed.


Sidney is helping Roberta and learning woodwork, so Harry the not-railway-fireman is working with Bill for the moment.  Perhaps that's why things are moving along so well.   Poor Sidney, he tries so hard, but just lately I was hearing Jim say, 'Sidney! - whattathehellareya doing!' so often I had to finally admit that Sidney was never going to be a mechanic.  Sidney seems to be doing a lot better now and he does look a lot happier too.

[otherunicorn]

The advantage of paying your staff nothing at all is you can double their wages as often as you like without incurring any extra expense!

[Annie]

The advantage of paying your staff nothing at all is you can double their wages as often as you like without incurring any extra expense!

I have a big chest of Playmobil coins and everybody gets one big coin and one small coin every week.  Sometimes I have to give them Lego coins instead, they grumble a bit about it, but nobody turns them down.

This morning Sidney was shocked to discover that Jim the foreman's twin brother George had just been taken on.  'Oh no! - now there's two of them,' he wailed.

[Tommy Two Strikes]

Foreman twins the horror to all workmen!!

[Annie]

The new 'Elf and Safety inspector came by and wanted to talk to Jim the Foreman.
'We ain't got no Elves on site,' Jim told him.
'Well you don't seem to have much in the way of safety either,' the inspector replied.

[Oztrainz]

Hey Annie,
I hope your Elf and Safety Inspector knows his stuff a bit better than our local railway inspectors -   

On 3 of the last 4 years, when auditing the SMS (Safety Management System) for a local 2' gauge railway museum, each inspector's first question was -
"Where's your connection to the (standard gauge) mainline? 

[Annie]

It didn't go too bad actually, Roberta the new carpenter discussed the Lord of the Rings with him for around an hour or so and then Bill showed him how the Works IC Baguley shunting loco can brew tea 

[Annie]

'What's this blinking thing,' said Jim the Foreman when he saw the new crane for the Works internal tramway that'd just arrived that morning.  'Looks like a toy to me; - won't be able to let Sidney loose on this un, - he'd have it smashed within moments.  Reckon we might stick to using the old Model T for a bit longer.'


Bill has been working very hard and Harry has been encouraging him to try out a few new ideas.  Jim hasn't been along to check things for a while now because he's been busy with new staff and plans for building the 'Works' as well as all kinds of deliveries of parts and materials.
Are you sure you're following those plans properly Bill?  A Ewing tank engine isn't quite the best loco to try out new experiments on you know.

[Annie]

Sidney met some very tiny people while at work today.  'Wow you're small,' he said, 'What do you eat?'
'Chocolate cake,' they all said together as loud as they could so he could hear them.
'I think you're telling fibs,' said Sidney not fooled in the slightest, 'I'll get you one of me Mum's peanut brownies from my lunch box and you can have that.'



Sidney decided to go and see where the tiny people had come from.  'Oooooo a pet engine,' he said in surprise.  Then he saw the new crane, 'Oooooo Jim must really trust me now 'coz he's got a proper crane for the Works tram.  Oooooo wonder if I should give it a go.......'

[Rowan]

Annie, a very topical entry, that last one...
HO HO HO

 

[Annie]

Annie, a very topical entry, that last one...
HO HO HO

 

Unfortunately an 8 coupled H0 scale loco is not a good subject for a Chinese firm to try knocking off on the cheap.  The side rods bind like anything as there is just too much slop for everything to work properly.  The motor block is nice enough though and it runs on a single 'AAA' battery.  It's certainly a good basis for me to use to build other interesting things though.  Would be a good basis for a mine loco as the mech is very compact underneath that European diesel bodyshell.
The H0 scale crane is going to be converted into a lightweight hand crane on a simple flatcar made largely from ice lolly sticks.  The wheels on the wagons are highly convertible to Ewings monorail wheels too 

[Annie]

'You better not bust my saw horses Bill,' Roberta told him sounding very annoyed.


The strange purple toy trainset locos have a quite nice compact motorblock that should be adaptable to all sorts of locos

[Annie]

Roberta was so pleased when the two soldiers came to arrest the mouse that had been running loose.  'Glad to help out mam, ' said Lieutenant Alan, 'Red and I don't have much to do these days.  I don't want speak ill of Miss Annie, but becoming a pacifist did put us out of a job.'


I used to be into roleplay type skirmish wargaming with these larger sized poseable figures.  Both the Lieutenant and 'Red' are customised from standard.  Red was my demolition expert and very good she was at it too.  I don't wargame anymore, but I did enjoy the modelmaking.